The Story Of Vault 136
by Michael James III
Summary: The date is October 23, 2077. It's a beautiful day. Nothing out of the ordinary. Max Green is an average 19-year-old going through his first semester of college. Life is great... until the bombs fall. Scared, confused and far away from his family, Max leaves his life behind and is forced to start a new life in Vault 136. (This is my first time writing fanfiction! I Hope you enjoy!)
1. Another Ordinary Day

**Chapter 1:** _ **Another Ordinary Day**_

It was a beautiful day at the university. The sky was blue, the air was warm and there was hardly any wind blowing about. It was days like these that made it impossible not to go outside and enjoy the weather. The campus was lively and full of energy in every direction. The Campus Center was full of people having a good time playing music, enjoying one ice-cold Nuka Cola after another, and simply enjoying each others' company. Outside, in the warm air, was a different type of luxury. People scattered themselves across the cozy grass, laying on towels or lounging in foldable lawn chairs. Everybody was enjoying themselves having picnics, reading comic books, playing instruments and enjoying the warm sun.

Tucked away in the back of a lecture hall, cut off from the sunshine and fun, was Max Green. He was fighting to keep his eyes open through the almost unbearable chemistry lecture. In the front of the lecture hall was a lone protectron robot called a Chem-Bot-3000. It had its own RobCo lab coat and often stood in front of the lecture hall projecting the day's lecture on the screen behind him. Max typically didn't like being taught by protectrons. At least they always knew what they were talking about and never got a calculation incorrect. But why were they always so difficult to understand? Max reached into his backpack and took out his notebook to start doodling. He decided he had heard enough of the robot's slow, monotone voice for one day. He started to draw a Mister Handy model robot. Just like the ones he always saw working around campus; maintaining lawns and replacing broken windows and such. Max had a fascination for technology. RobCo industries was his first inspiration to study engineering at the university. But what interested him even more than RobCo was Vault-Tec.

Vault-Tec corporations: put together by the American government to construct amazing underground bomb shelters called vaults. Max took a tour of a vault before the semester started as a part of his summer freshman orientation. Turns out Vault-tec decided to build one of their vaults underneath the university. Vault 136 they called it. Max was thrilled. He had always wanted to see inside a vault. Being enrolled as a full time student at the university guaranteed his entry into Vault 136. In the event of "Total atomic annihilation", as all the cliche instructional holotapes kept saying, at least he'd be safe in the vault. It felt ridiculous to think that the world could end at any moment. Before being in college he remembered sitting at the dining table every morning with his father. Together they would listen to the news on the radio while enjoying their routine bowl of Sugar Bombs. Every day the news had something new to say about the "ongoing threat of nuclear warfare!" Or something like that.

"Why would anybody want to start a nuclear war, dad?" Max would ask his father. "Who would win the war if everybody was dead?"

"Nobody, son… Nobody at all. So let's just hope we don't ever need to worry about it in our lifetime." Then they would drop the subject and continue getting ready for the day ahead of them.

Max didn't like the idea of being stuck in a vault without his family. However, being so far away from home, he understood that it was the only way.

After what felt like forever, the chemistry lecture was dismissed. Max walked out into the hallway to find his friend Todd Johnson waiting for him.

"Hey, Max! Awesome weather today, huh?" Started Todd.

"I wouldn't know, man. I've been stuck in here listening to a bucket of bolts talk about stupid oxidation numbers all morning."

"Sucks to be you! Here. I got you this at the Super Duper Mart."

Todd slung his bag off one shoulder and reached inside to pull out a bottle of red Nuka Cola, Max's favorite.

"Nuka Cherry!? You're the best, dude! How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's go enjoy the weather."

Max popped the cap off the Nuka Cherry and took his first quenching sip. Delicious. The two of them started towards the door to go outside.


	2. The Final Hour

**Chapter 2: The Final Hour**

The air outside was warm and engaging. Sunlight washed over them and almost seemed to pull them closer and closer into the beautiful green quad. Practically resembling a nature reserve or a state park, the quad was vibrant and inviting. A smooth, rocky trail zig-zagged through the field of grass and luscious foliage. Following along both sides of the path was a lively assortment of flowers and park benches. Occasionally, they would pass a decorative plaque to commemorate individuals deemed important by the university. It all looked so pretty given the time of year. The calming assortment of leaves falling from the trees, only to immediately be swept up into a neat pile by one of the Mister Handy workers. The crisp October air was careful not to be too hot nor too cold. Everything was just perfect.

Todd pointed out a large tree in the middle of the quad and the two agreed it would be a fine place to sit. Max continued to enjoy his Nuka Cherry as he slung his backpack off his shoulders and sat comfortably against the trunk of the tree.

"I was talking to Lizzy, earlier." Todd said, sitting down against the tree. "She wants to hangout today."

Max's face lit up with excitement from Todd's news. His heart start to beat faster. The involuntary reaction was impossible to hide from Todd.

"I'm sure you're excited about that." Todd added, mischiefly.

"What makes you say that?" Max shot back, breaking out of his brief daydream.

"It's not that hard to notice, dude. Whenever she comes up in conversation you get that stupid grin on your face."

The two laughed and Max admitted that Todd's accusation was true. Her name was Elizabeth Bates, but everybody just called her Lizzy. She was a mutual friend of theirs. It was painfully obvious to everybody that Max had feelings for her. Max always enjoyed when she was around. Although he still hadn't found the opportunity to be alone with her yet, Max didn't mind it when they hung out as a large group. As long as she was around. Besides, he still really liked her as a friend and didn't want to do anything to mess that up. He often thought to himself that things were fine the way they were and that her friendship was good enough for him.

"I told her we would be in the quad after class so she'll know where to find us. She'll probably be here any minute."

They continued to talk and enjoy each other's company in the nice weather.

They didn't have to wait around for too long before they heard their names being called from across the quad. They turned to see Lizzy walking out of the campus library waving to get their attention. Max and Todd waved back as she walked through the grass to join them under the shady tree.

"Hey, guys! How about this weather, huh?" She grinned.

Elizabeth Bates was tall and thin. She had shoulder length hair that shined a natural red. Her face held an abundance of freckles. So many that her face looked more toned than the rest of her pale body.

"Yeah, it's such a beautiful day!" Replied Max. "How are you?"

"I'm wonderful! All done with classes for the day!" She gleamed

Max admired the way she always seemed to emanate positive vibes. She always had a smile on her face. Always so happy and full of life. She threw down her bag and sat herself down next to Max.

"Is that a Nuka Cherry?" Asked Lizzy.

"Yeah! Todd got it for me! Do you want a sip?"

Max handed the bottle over to Lizzy. She accepted the offer and took a sip, being careful not to accidentally drink the last of it. She handed it back and smiled

"Thanks! Cherry is my favorite!"

"Really?! Mine too! It's the greatest!" Max smiled back, losing all senses of the world around him. Goosebumps shot up his back and he felt every muscle in his body start to relax. It was such a small similarity between the two of them but it made Max happy to share it with her. He tried to wipe his stupid smile away but it wouldn't budge. He was feeling happy now that Lizzy was around.

"Great minds think alike! You have good taste!" Lizzy laughed. "There was this one time when-"

Lizzy was interrupted. Cut off. The distant chit-chat of people lounging around the quad had also stopped. The entire world went silent in substitution for one blood chilling sound. The sound pierced the air as it started low and quickly climbed in pitch until it reached its peak and slowly descended back down again. Max immediately knew what the sound was. His stomach tightened. His hands clenched. His body was a battlefield of emotions, feeling heavy and unable to move. His skin felt cold while his insides began to flood hot with fear. The world moved in slow motion around him. He turned to lock eyes with Todd who shared his facial expression. They both knew what it was. Sirens. War Sirens. They had only heard them once before during freshman orientation as a drill. But they were strictly informed that the sirens would never be a drill after that day. This was real.

"V-... Vu-... V-..." Max stuttered. He couldn't speak. His mind was racing. His entire body was numb. He turned and this time made eye contact with Lizzy who was no longer the beaming orb of positivity. He had never seen her so scared before. Max's world sped up and returned to normal speed and he could finally bring himself to scream the only word on his mind.

"V-... VAULT!"

Todd was the first to get on his feet. He looked to Max and offered his hand. Max, shaking and unsure if he could stand, dropped the bottle, grabbed Todd's arm and was hoisted to his feet. Almost collapsing under his own weight he shook himself out of his trance and helped Lizzy to her feet as well.

"We need to get to the vault right now!" Screamed Max, voice cracking with fear.

The three of them turned and bolted towards the vault entrance, located in the very center of campus. They ran as fast as they could, leaving their bags behind under the tree.

Max's head was drowning in sporadic thoughts. What about his family? What about college? What about his life? What about the entire world? None of those things could afford to be a priority right now. There was only one thing that mattered right now. One thing. Get to Vault 136.


	3. Friends Divided

Chapter 3: Friends Divided

There was chaos in every direction. Max, Todd and Lizzy ran as fast as they could, being very careful not to lose each other in the crowd. Knowing very well where the vault entrance was, everybody flocked in the same direction, ultimately creating a strong current of terrified, desperate college students. Max was overly aware of his foot placement. The fear of tripping and being mercilessly trampled by the people behind him was far too vivid of an image. The true reality of the situation left Max's body numb. How could this be real? What was going to happen? How long would he be stuck in the vault? … Would he even get INTO the vault? That final thought was immediately rejected in his head. There was no way. He had to make it. He just had to.

"Come on! We're so close!" Max yelled to Todd and Lizzy, who were still by his side.

Just then, Max noticed, in the corner of his eye. a stranger trip over her own feet and tumble to the ground. A wave of panic rushed over him as he knew he couldn't bring himself to stop and help her. It would be suicide. He felt his stomach tighten with regret. He felt awful but what could he do? As Max juggled thoughts of moral justifications and excuses in his head, Todd vanished in the mob of people. Once Todd saw the girl fall to the ground he immediately shifted his path and ran in her direction.

"Todd no!" screamed Lizzy and Max in practical unison as Todd continued to distance himself further from his friends.

"I'll be right behind you!" shouted Todd. "Just go! I'll be right there!"

Max felt his eyes start to sting with fear while conflicting objectives flooded his head. The world could end at any moment, the Vault was just up ahead and he couldn't leave his best friend behind to die. Cursing under his breath he quickly changed course and found himself close behind Todd. Lizzy, scared of being alone, forced herself to do the same and followed close behind Max.

Todd was the first one to the girl, still on the ground crying. He knelt down beside her, put his hand on her shoulder and managed to conjure up enough breath to talk to her.

"Come on, get up!" Todd snapped in her face. "You're so close! Don't give up!"

Max and Lizzy caught up with Todd and kneeled down next to him.

"Todd we really need to go." Max warned. "We could already be too late. The bombs could fall any second. Please, we need to go!"

"Are you saying we should just leave her here?!" Todd shot back, red faced.

Todd turned back to the girl, dismissing Max completely and noticed she had a tight grip on her ankle. Upon further examination, the girl's ankle was starting to swell and grow dark purple.

"It looks sprained." pitched Lizzy. "Can you walk on it?"

"I… I don't know. B-But it hurts."

The girl was starting to cry. If not in pain, then in fear. Todd, refusing to leave her, jumped to her side and lifted her off the ground and started to carry her.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Asked the girl.

"We're not leaving you! We're all getting to the vault. Now come on!"

Todd was the first to start running, girl in arms, towards the vault as Max and Lizzy followed close behind him.

The entrance to Vault 136 was in the center of a large empty field. Despite it being the heart of the campus, most of the field was off limits to students and, understandably, secured by a large chain link fence. As the mob of college students neared the main gate, they were met with a large presence of Vault-tec model sentry bots. Their impressive size and aggressive weaponry were quick to defuse desperate hostility and caused the students to skid to a stop at the gate. Nobody was ready to argue with their authority.

"STEP. FORWARD. IN. SINGLE. FILE. LINE" The robot announced in a choppy, mechanical kind of way. "IDENTIFICATION. SCAN. IN. EFFECT."

Students began to push and shove their way to the front of the pack, eager to gain entrance into the vault. The robots were able to herd the students with ease as they all took a collective step backwards. One student stepped forward, separating himself from the others.

"STEP. FORWARD." ordered the sentry bot in the center. The man stepped closer and was caught off guard to be bathed in a bright red light.

"REMAIN. STILL." The light, emanating from the sentry bot's head, made a high pitched hum as it scanned the student from his feet up to his head. This process only took the span of a seconds until the light dimmed and eventually went out.

"AUTHORIZATION. COMPLETE. Nathaniel Francis Elliot ACCESS. GRANTED."

The sentry bot then glided out of the student's way, granting him access into the gated area. The student, Nathan, stepped past the robot and through the gate to the vault entrance.

From there the identification scans were quick and efficient. To increase productivity the sentry bot remained stationary at the side of the gate and continuously scanned the area just in front of the gate as students quickly walked through the red light and continued towards the vault entrance. The list of names went smoothly.

"[Susan Grant Burton]... [Charles Tenor Gregory Jr.]..." The list continued until Max, Lizzy and Todd were at the front of the mob. Lizzy was the first in line. She walked slowly through the beam of red light and Max followed close behind her.

"[Elizabeth Ruby Bates]..." The sentry both chimed. "[Maxwell James Green III]..." it continued. However, as Todd stepped through the scanner, a loud beeping sound erupted from the sentry bot. Two other heavily armed bots were fast to approach Todd and take action.

"Woah! Woah! What's the problem?" Todd questioned, terrified to know the answer.

"[Todd Keller Johnson] ACCESS. GRANTED."

"What about her?" Todd asked, giving attention to the injured girl in his hands. "Is it because we got scanned at the same time?"

"NEGATIVE… ENROLLMENT. REQUIREMENTS. NOT. MET."

Max and Lizzy were by Todd's side, urging him to come with them.

"Todd. She must not be in the program. Please, whatever the reason is I'm sorry Todd but we need to go!" Max said, impatiently

"It's true!" confessed the girl. "I'm so sorry! I thought there was a chance I could sneak inside. I'm not a fulltime student. I don't qualify. I'm so sorry."

"B-... But…" Todd mumbled, sounding defeated and hopeless. "Th-... There needs to be another way!"

"NEGATIVE." interrupted the sentry bot, extending its hand and grabbing the girl's arm to pull her outside of the gated area. At the same time, Max and Lizzy grabbed onto Todd's shoulders and pulled him back towards them.

"NO!" Todd screamed, voice cracking in anger and fear. He held on tight but ultimately was overpowered. Being pulled in opposite directions, Todd lost his grip and was separated from the girl. Stuck in the grasp of the sentry bot, the girl screamed and tried with all her strength to break free but it was no use. Todd refused to give up, fighting with all his strength to break free from the arms of Max and Lizzy. He flailed his arms and legs like a desperate child until, eventually, he turned back towards Max and punched him hard in the face. Max fell to the ground disoriented as the pain shot through his body.

"Todd! What are you doing? You hurt Max!" cried Lizzy, unsure of what to do next.

Max's vision was slowly fading to black as he began to lose consciousness. Trying with all his remaining strength to stay awake, it was hopeless. Max's body went numb and his eyes closed as he drifted off involuntarily. Just before his hearing checked out as well, the last thing he heard was the monstrous explosion of a distant atom bomb. The ground shook as he could faintly hear screams of terror. He distinctly focused on the sound of Lizzy's voice as he eventually lost consciousness entirely.


	4. A New Home

Chapter 4: A New Home

Max's eyes opened partly as he awoke with a pain in his head. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and sat up slowly to examine his surroundings. The world around him was cold and dark. He could make out the feeling of tightly compacted dirt under the palms of his hands. He quickly pieced together the events leading up that very moment. Max immediately jumped to his feet, wide eyed. The trees around him were dead spikes of black char. The campus buildings were reduced to crumbling ruins of debris.

"Todd?" Max called out into the empty cold air. "... Lizzy?"

There was nobody left. They were all gone. Breathing heavily, Max turned to notice the entrance of Vault 136 had been sealed. Feeling light headed and drowsy, Max dragged his feet to the large and unbudgeable gear-shaped door. His knees gave out and his body collapsed into the dirt. Unable to get back up, he banged on the vault door with all his strength.

"I'm still alive!" He screamed. "Please let me in!"

Just then, a bright red light shined from behind him. Max turned and faced a sentry bot towering over him. Its scanner started at Max's feet and scanned up his body all the way up to his head.

"Please… Open the door for me… I'm alive." Max said, voice growing weak.

"NEGATIVE. [Maxwell James Green III] ACCESS DENIED." The sentry bot replied

"What do you mean? Please! I need to get in! You said earlier that I could go in!"

"NEGATIVE. ACTIVATING. SECURITY. PROTOCOL.."

The arm of the sentry both began to spark to life as the large weapon attached to it prepared to fire.

"Woah woah woah! Don't shoot! Please stop!" Max pleaded.

The sentry bot paid no attention to Max's pleading and charged its weapons to maximum capacity. The bot aimed his gun at Max, who was still unable to move. Max closed his eyes tight and screamed.

Max awoke with a jolt, this time in a bed. He sat up quickly and shouted in fear. Scared and confused, he felt soft hands on his shoulder and chest gently pushing him to lie back down. Max examined his surroundings and noticed Lizzy sitting beside him on the bed.

"Max! Max. It's okay! I'm here! You're safe! We're in the vault now."

Max felt his muscles relax as he gave into her hands pushing him to lie back down on the bed. His eyes softly look up at her as she sat on the edge of the bed looking down at him.

"I… I thought I was dead." Max admits, still flustered. "What happened? Where's Todd? What about-"

"Max, please relax." Lizzy interrupted. "I can answer all your questions. But first please take a deep breath. Everything is okay now. We're safe."

Listening to Lizzy's voice, Max became very aware of how shaky he was. His heart was beating fast and he was breathing heavily. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Lizzy took a facecloth off the bedside table and wiped the sweat off his face. It was times like these that reminded Max that Lizzy was a nursing major. Aside from being a good student with good grades she was so caring and gentle when it came to helping other people. Max had no doubt that even if she wasn't a nursing major, Lizzy would be able to calm him down with her smile alone. Lizzy placed her hand on Max's chest for comfort. It was only then that Max noticed what he was wearing. Somebody had swapped his button down shirt and jeans with a blue and yellow jumpsuit. He looked back at Lizzy and noticed she was wearing the exact same thing.

"Yup. You guessed it." Lizzy giggled. "I guess we have a dress code now. It'll take some getting used to. But hey, it could be worse."

Suddenly, despite all the scary thoughts rushing sporadically through Max's head, he couldn't help but immaturely wonder how exactly he got into his vault suit. At the same time, however, he didn't see it as a priority either.

"Yeah. You're right. Things could be much worse." Max laughed back, beginning to calm down. "I'm thankful to be alive." Just then, as Max was finally getting relaxed, the knot in his stomach reminded him of his best friend. "Lizzy… Is Todd okay? I need to know."

"Yes. He's safe. We all made it." Lizzy assured him. "But understandably I didn't want him in the room after he hurt you. He was being irrational out there."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Max sighed, replaying the event in his mind.

"Listen. I know you and him are best friends and all…" Lizzy started, unsure of how to continue. "But he just wasn't acting like himself outside of the vault. I mean, after punching you out cold he tried so hard to help that girl. He didnt even help me carry you to the vault. We just barely made it. To be honest, the only reason Todd is still alive is because one of the vault robots ended up taking him out and dragging him to the entrance."

"I'm guessing that girl Todd tried to help didn't make it, huh?" Max asked.

Lizzy shook her head, and looked at the floor in silence.

"Todd went crazy. They had to put him under with some kind of a sedative."

"That's Todd for you." Max chuckled "Always trying to do the right thing. He's a good man. I hope you can still trust him."

"As long as he doesn't try to hurt you again, I guess I'll give him another chance." Lizzy said, in a serious tone. "But he needs to get it in his head that people he cares about should come first. Not some pretty girl that makes him feel like a hero."

Max nodded, admitting that, although he didnt agree with every bit, there was a lot of truth in what Lizzy was saying.

Lizzy and Max turned to the sound of the door sliding open and watched as a robot rolled into the room. It was a sizable, clunky robot, just barely fitting through the threshold of the door. It had a large, cylindrical middle section with tank-like treads to move around and a glass dome for a head. Inside the glass dome was a brain suspended in a glowing water-like substance.

The robot wheeled into the room holding a syringe containing a mysterious blue liquid.

"Welcome. [Mr. Green] To Vault. One. Three. Six." Announced the robot in a painfully slow fashion. "Please extend non-dominant arm for daily medication."

"Umm… Excuse me?" questioned Max, hesitant to be anywhere near the robot's strange needle.

"It's okay, Max," assured Lizzy. "Everybody had to do it. I had mine a few hours ago when we first got underground. They said they had to wait until you woke up for your injection."

Although Max genuinely trusted Lizzy, he was still skeptical and hesitant to extend his arm.

"Am I allowed to ask what's in it first?"

"Affirmative. Living underground humans are neglected of natural vitamins and nutrients such as those provided by sunlight." The robot explained. "Daily medication is administered to all residents of Vault. One. Three. Six. To assure a healthy lifestyle. underground."

Max looked at Lizzy who offered a warm, reassuring smile.

"Well then it would appear I don't have much of a choice." Max laughed, extending his right arm. Avoiding the sight of the needle entering his arm, Max continued to look at Lizzy. Her red hair looked exaggeratedly more red alongside the blue vault suit.

"Injection. Complete." Announced the robot, offering Max a bandaid. While Max was applying the bandage, the robot turned to Lizzy.

"[Mrs. Bates] I am also here to inform you that your friend. [Mr. Johnson] Has recovered from his sedative."

"That's great news. Thank you. Can you take us to him?" asked Lizzy.

"Affirmative." answered the robot, rotating around to face the door. "Right this way."

"Can you walk?" Lizzy asked, resting her hand on Max's knee.

"Well I sure hope so." Max joked. "Todd might have broke my nose. But not my legs."

He adjusted his body off the bed and rose to his feet smiling.

"Time for a whole new life."


	5. A Matter Of Perspective

**Chapter 5: A Matter Of** **Perspective**

Max and lizzy accompanied the robot through the doorway and into a wide spacious hallway. The cold unwelcoming venue was enough for Max to conclude that calling the vault 'home' would prove to be a difficult task. Thick pipes traveled along the ceiling above their heads. The walls were a canvas of various cables and machinery far too complex for Max to guess their intended purpose. The floor was a path of black rubber mats placed one after another to give the illusion that not everything was made of metal. In conclusion, Vault 136 gave Max a cold and rather uneventful first impression. The only attempt at a color scheme was the yellow borderlines along the threshold of the doors and at the base of the walls by their feet.

"Home sweet home, huh?" Lizzy muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"Maybe not yet." Max replied. "But give it time. It'll grow on us." He wasn't sure if he believed the words himself but he knew he should at least try to be strong willed. If not for himself, then for Lizzy.

"Have you visited Todd at all since we got underground?"

"No, I haven't." Lizzy answered. "I decided to stick with you since you were hurt."

"You said we've been down here for a few hours now, right? You could have explored the vault or something. You didn't have to stay with me."

"I know." Lizzy charmed, smiling back at him brightly. Max smiled back in appreciation. He started to think about their situation. Life as he knew it was over. Just outside the vault door, the world was on fire, hopelessly dying. Yet Max still found it in himself to be happy. He had Lizzy to thank for that. As long as she was there with him, he knew life in the vault wouldn't be all that bad. Maybe he could manage to call it 'home' afterall.

"Pardon me, [Mrs Bates]? [Mr. Green]?" The robot began. "We have arrived. [Mr. Johnson] is just inside."

The robot came to a stop outside a closed door. Extending its robotic tube-like arm to activate the door control, it paused for a moment before opening it.

"[Mr. Green]. Due to recent events, might I advise extra caution?"

"Yes… Thank you… I'll be careful." Max replied.

With that, the robot activated the door and caused it to slide up with ease.

Max turned to Lizzy and smiled.

"Are you good?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course. Just remember my promise. If he tries to hurt you-."

"I understand." Max interrupted. "It'll be okay. Come on."

Lizzy followed Max inside the room that shared the same layout as the room they were in before. Similar to college dorms, she assumed every living quarters would look the same. It reminded her that, being with Max the whole time, she still hadn't been to her own room yet. She was tired and feeling overworked but didn't want to admit it to Max.

Upon entering the room, both her and Max noticed Todd sitting on the side of his bed staring at the floor between his feet.

They shared a quiet look of concern before Max decided to break the silence.

"Umm… Hey, dude. It's us."

Todd looked up slowly and peeked over his shoulder. Locking eyes, Max could tell that Todd had been crying.

"Are you… Okay?" Max felt the confidence starting to seep out of his body. He began to regret confronting Todd. He had never felt so distant from his best friend before.

"... I'm fine." Todd mumbled under his breath. His voice was quiet and shaky.

Max looked back at Lizzy and shrugged nervously. She gestured with her eyes to keep going and shrugged back to indicate that this was a job for him and not her.

Knowing that she was right, he turned back to Todd and took another step closer to the side of the bed.

"Can we talk?" Max offered.

"I just need some time, okay? I just woke up." Todd answered.

"Well... so did I." Max chuckled. "Thanks for the shiner, by the way. Never knew you could hit so hard."

"You know I didn't want to hurt you, Max." Todd said, losing eye contacting and staring back at his feet. "Maybe if you didn't try to stop me, I wouldn't have had to do it."

"Todd… you're my friend. I care about you. If I didn't stop you-"

"You don't get it!" Todd said loudly, rising from the bed to face him. "You didn't have to do anything! She could still be alive if you just-"

"She wasn't registered, Todd! You think it's my fault the robots were programmed to stop her from getting in?!"

"Don't talk about her like she was some kind of a mistake! She was a person! What if it happened to you?! What if it happened to me?!"

"That's different and you know it! You're my friend! She was a complete stranger!"

"SHE WAS STILL A HUMAN BEING!" Todd exploded.

He took a step towards Max, hands clenched into fists. Without hesitation, Lizzy stepped in front of Max to defend him, fully prepared to face Todd.

"Woah, Lizzy. Please stay out of this." Max pleaded "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Nobody's getting hurt!" Shouted Lizzy, turning to face Todd, standing only a few steps away. "Todd… Take a breath. I'm sorry about what happened. I wish we could have helped her too. But did you really want to argue with the huge robot and its laser rifle?

"Robots don't care about us, Lizzy! They don't have emotion. It there was a real human working at that gate she would still be alive!" Todd shot back.

"You don't know that, Todd!" Max inputted. "We were running out of time and Lizzy and I were trying to help you!"

"That's the difference between man and machine! The world can't be run by ones and zeros! It's not some binary system!" Todd paused for a moment, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "... It's just… It can't always be black and white like that… There's a gray area where emotion needs to be considered. But not robots… They're just soulless machines. They don't care about us and yet here we are, stuck in a vault controlled only by them. What a life, huh?" Todd began to calm down and lower his voice. "I needed to help that girl because she was a person… with thoughts and feelings… a whole life… and now she's dead… because of some stupid robot." His anger began to deflate as he slowly lowered himself back on the bed and stared at his feet again. "I'd rather be left to die than be stuck underground with these machines… You should have just left me."

"Todd… Don't say that." Max said quietly, still shaken by Todd's outburst.

"I just… I'm sorry… can you please just leave me to think? I need some time alone." Todd asked. Lizzy, still standing in front of Max, turned around, placed her hand on his arm, and nodded in agreement.

"Okay… we'll let you be alone." Max replied.

Max lead lizzy to the doorway and left the room. From the hallway, Max turned back to Todd, feeling the need to say something before he left.

"Todd? I'm here for you… If you need anything-"

"I didn't even get to know her name."

The door slid closed, leaving Max and Lizzy alone in the hallway, speechless.


End file.
